Personal Finance Stop blaming your spouse or your second job for "messing up" secondary W-2s |
- Stop blaming your spouse or your second job for "messing up" secondary W-2s
- Article: One Shutdown Lesson Is That Americans Need to Save More
- 33 years old. Newly divorced, 20k saved up, now what?
- ELI5 Financial Literacy
- Is there any purpose in waiting to file tax return?
- Was homeless, now getting healthy, need guidance.
- I’m Being Bullied Into Leasing a Car
- Filed refund. Forgot to include checking/savings account interesr
- Housing options for father with no income whatsoever.
- Can someone help me understand why I feel like I’m being screwed by the IRS this year for getting married.
- Expat Taxes and Retirement
- Paying wealth management team .95% to manage investments
- Why is there so much tax secretism in the US?
- How can I begin to take responsibility for my finances? (19, very spoiled)
- Student loans will be paid off this month, what to do with the extra money?
- Does anyone here not use credit cards?
- Dealing with a (small) collections letter
- First Time Moving Out
- Self employed, formerly homeless, haven't filed taxes for five years - timing question
- Mom is on the mortgage with my abusive father who is the sole earner
- Bank closed credit card for missed payment, then immediately sent new one.
- Can't afford my student loan payments and I'm really scared
- (AUST) After paying off debt, how can I ensure I don't fall back into bad habits? What is the best way to use that money I was putting into repaying debt?
| Stop blaming your spouse or your second job for "messing up" secondary W-2s Posted: 29 Jan 2019 04:49 AM PST If you and your spouse are both withholding as married, taxes are withheld as if this paycheck is your family's only source of income. That's why everything looks fine and dandy with only one W-2 put into your online tax preparer, but there's a sudden massive liability when you put your spouses in. Your spouse didn't mess up, the same thing would happen if you put their W-2 in first and your W-2 in second. Both of you should be withholding as either single or dual income. Similarly, each job withholds as if it is your only job. If you have 3 jobs where you each make $12k a year, each job assumes you'll have no tax liability. It looks fine when you put the first W-2 in, but increases as you add the others. Your second and third job didn't mess up, the same thing would happen if you started with either of the two other W-2s. Use the IRS's official tax burden estimator to figure out how much extra you should be withholding through one of these jobs to compensate for the other two. Edit: I'm not affiliated with TCF National Bank, it's joking username [link] [comments]  |
| Article: One Shutdown Lesson Is That Americans Need to Save More Posted: 29 Jan 2019 06:14 AM PST I found this article to be interesting and important. Thoughts? One Shutdown Lesson Is That Americans Need to Save MoreBy Tyler Cowen January 28, 2019 https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-01-28/shutdown-lesson-americans-need-to-save-more Excerpts:
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| 33 years old. Newly divorced, 20k saved up, now what? Posted: 29 Jan 2019 03:22 PM PST I just left a toxic marriage. I have about 20k saved up. No debt. 10k in Ira and that's it. I make about 80k annually. Idk what to do right now. I've never had free control of my finances, and frankly it's a little scary.. I've always let her control everything. I guess scared and excited at the same time. I need to find a place to live. And figure out what my next move is... I'm in Dallas by the way. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 Jan 2019 06:29 PM PST Hi PF - I am a 30 year old, single mother making 50k annually and I am not ashamed to admit I know verrrry little about finances. I don't know anything about 401k, IRAs or any other jargon related to finances. I don't know what I'm currently contributing at my job, or my last job; refinancing loans, and any other smart things I should be doing to set my family's future up for success. It is hard for me to get a footing because I don't know where it all begins to ask and it's overwhelming. But - it's my 2019 goal to change that. I've read some of the community info - but it reads as if you have a basic understanding, which I do not. And it may be my wonky iPad but some of the links are dead. I am looking for some books, videos, etc. that first explain what it all is and what I need to be familiar with, so I can build upon that as I go along. I want to be very knowledgeable and know as much as I can. I'm sure it's not too late to start. Thank you in advance! [link] [comments]  |
| Is there any purpose in waiting to file tax return? Posted: 29 Jan 2019 07:19 PM PST I finally got all my tax papers and want to file right away, but my dad said I should wait because there are new updates that come out on turbo tax (that's the one he gets, so I just use it). Would my refund be any different? I have heard of other people filing already, so I don't know why reason there is to wait. Should I just do it now? [link] [comments]  |
| Was homeless, now getting healthy, need guidance. Posted: 29 Jan 2019 08:14 PM PST Hello all, Used to have a good credit score, got out of the USAF and ended up homeless, drunk, depressed etc you've heard the story. Now on 100% disability and the VA is cutting those checks in half to pay for some extra schooling the VA was wrongly billed for (currently pursuing an audit of said account) I have about 8k in debt total (not counting the school debt which is being paid for via my disability checks) My credit score is in the 500's now (used to be 7-something) Haven't filed taxes in 3 or 4 years, and only have about 2k in taxable earned income (from a part-time job I held for 4 months) Currently pursuing health and wellness and have a solid place to live in. What's my next step? [link] [comments]  |
| I’m Being Bullied Into Leasing a Car Posted: 29 Jan 2019 05:04 AM PST (im18) my dad hs been pressuring me into getting a leased car for a while now but i told him id rather just save up a bit more and get a used car. i need a $1000 surgery asap and my dad told me he wont pay. he said he'll spend $1000 on me if it's for a downpayment on a lease. but not a surgery i need right now. i have $2000 to my name. im getting the surgery tomorrow and paying by myself. my current car is about to break down. and im only getting help if i lease. and i cant understand why hes bullying me to lease, of all things... lol. so i guess my question is how should i go about paying for a car, school, and recovering from this $1000 for surgery? thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Filed refund. Forgot to include checking/savings account interesr Posted: 29 Jan 2019 07:41 PM PST I filed my taxes with freetaxusa about a week ago and it was accepted by the IRS. But today I got a 1099-int in the mail for my bank accounts and did not include this in my filling. Do I need to file an amended return? It is only for ~$100 dollars. [link] [comments]  |
| Housing options for father with no income whatsoever. Posted: 29 Jan 2019 09:50 AM PST My father is 54 years old and has been diagnosed with parkinsons disease. He has no income or savings of any kind and does not have the ability to earn income due to the severity of the disease. He has been living with his 94 year old grandmother who passed away 2 weeks ago. His aunt is inheriting the house and has said that she will be selling the house around april. I live in a 1 bedroom apartment with my wife and cant take home in. He has no where to go. He does not own anything except for his car. He does get food stamps and is on medicaid. I dont know where to start looking to get him some help. All of the income based housing in our area that I have contacted has a waiting list that will not meet our deadline. He is applying for disability but the process is very long. Any help or advice is very much appreciated. Thank you in advance [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 Jan 2019 07:45 PM PST My wife has a s-ton of money in a trust. I make about $75K USD. In short, we got a pre-nup and what's mine is mine and what's hers is hers. Yes it can be ammended, that's not the question. But I just read that dispite this new tax plan in the US, because we're married filing separately and she has a complicated source of income that gets itemized, my standard deduction is now $0.00. Can someone help me understand this concept? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 Jan 2019 05:53 PM PST Since 2011, I have worked in Beijing as an ESL teacher. Since I am employed in China, I pay Chinese taxes and have filed for US taxes using the foreign income exclusion (all of my income is generated in China). From what I have read, I cannot invest any foreign earned income that has been excluded into an IRA (traditional or Roth). My employer doesn't offer any sort of retirement savings since they are a Chinese school, so I'm a little bit at a loss as to what or how to set money aside for retirement. I know that some expats file their USA taxes as if they were self-employed, and that allows them to pay into social security, but then I'm being taxed both in China and the US, which doesn't seem like a great option. Are there any other expats out there who can shed some light on how to save money for retirement? I don't have a $25,000 lump sum to open a brokerage account at one of the major investment firms, and I know a savings account won't cut it! [link] [comments]  |
| Paying wealth management team .95% to manage investments Posted: 29 Jan 2019 05:46 PM PST Is this typically a good idea for someone who is pretty clueless about the ins and outs of investing. I mean, I know all the basic terminology and buzz words but when it comes down to what to do with my investment money, I have no idea if it's a good or bad idea. So I had a phone conversation with someone from a wealth management team. They were referred to me by my tax guy (who was referred to me by a very good friend). Spent about 30 minutes going over my priorities and my assets. She was very nice and seemed very knowledgeable. They basically have one fee model. The one in the title. Whatever money you give them to invest for you, they take .95% a year as payment. Anyone have any experience with hiring a company to manage your investments? Is this a good idea? Bad idea? Can someone with a decent level of intelligence find enough info online to do this on their own? [link] [comments]  |
| Why is there so much tax secretism in the US? Posted: 29 Jan 2019 08:12 PM PST Hello, So I'm an international student filing taxes for the first time. My W-2 just came by mail and I'm here stuck looking at the numbers trying to understand what's going on. I have been doing some research on what to do, but there are still so many questions. All of my campus resources do the same claim "We're not legally authorized to give help with respect to taxes" and it also seems like a hard topic between my peers. It's so weird to me, since tax filing looks so complex, why nobody wants to talk about it? Why nobody helps each other filing taxes? [link] [comments]  |
| How can I begin to take responsibility for my finances? (19, very spoiled) Posted: 29 Jan 2019 09:11 AM PST I really need advice and am embarrassed of my situation. I am 19 years old and 99% dependent on my parents. I have technically been moved out since 17 years old because I graduated high school early and started college a year early as well. I ended up switching to a more expensive school after one year at my previous and now I will be graduating from my current college in August of 2020. My parents have graciously been paying for all of this for the last 3 years. Including 3 different rents (I am in Southern California for context). The first two of which I ended up complaining about until they got me out of the lease. Now I am back in the same area I was in two years ago, but in a nicer one bedroom apartment that I feel so comfortable and stable in. So for one, I finally feel good in the environment I am in and am not going about trying find everything wrong with the place. The rent here is $1,650 a month and the utilities are separate. I moved in middle Dec so I haven't gotten to see a water bill yet. But for half a month, my Edison bill was $20ish. Other than that, I have a $50 Spectrum bill, $13 Netflix bill, $100 phone bill, a $25 box I have a subscription to from a company I like, and the student $5 sub to Spotify premium. Up until two weeks ago I would get sent $120 every Friday as allowance and then every other week I would get a $175ish deposit from my parents company because my cousins all got the same thing for the first few college years. The only responsibility I had was to pay the Internet out of it, and in December I upgraded my phone and now have that monthly bill to pay myself as well. On that, I seemed to manage fine but spent it on a lot of frivolous things besides groceries. And it is not rare that I have to ask for a little extra for gas because I spent too much. They are going to take care of everything for this month. But next month I am supposed to start paying the utilities including the things I already pay just from my allowance. I have a discover IT card with a 1,100 limit, and there is currently $415 charged on there, and I am expecting my $100 phone bill to come in the next week or two. I have a checking and savings (savings account is attached to parents) through Chase Private Client and have just under 190 bucks to my name. I have a FICO of 710. I know I am disappointing my parents by not having a job and always promising them I will get one. I am so disappointed in myself all the time and feel all this anxiety over money even though I could have easily saved a bit if I would act more responsibly. I signed up for Postmates and did that for a couple days this week but I hate it. I am so afraid that if I get a job I will start to feel miserable in my daily life and have no time for anything else like my parents. Not to mention I embarrassingly have little experience working at all. Please don't hold back, I want honesty on how I can start taking some financial responsibilty and make myself proud. They have told me time and time again that they planned on paying for most of my costs until I finish school and that is what they want, so I really want to start taking advantage of the fact that I have little financial responsibility right now and more than a year to figure it out before I will start slowly being cut off the parental help. It would be so nice if I could start to do that myself even sooner. TLDR: 19 , living away from home, completely dependent/spoiled with hardly any working experience, wanting advice on how to take responsibility over my finances and gain some independence whilst I still have a year of parental help. [link] [comments]  |
| Student loans will be paid off this month, what to do with the extra money? Posted: 29 Jan 2019 06:25 PM PST I have $4000 left of my student loan that I am paying off in full this week after my next paycheck. I have a savings account (emergency fund) with $10,500 that I contribute $100/week to. I paid my car off two years ago. I am 24 years old and I make $70,000 per year. My monthly expenses are $1200 (rent, phone, gas, internet, hulu, electric, etc) and I am contributing 27% of my pay to my 401k which equates to $18,900 to max out the annual IRS limit for tax purposes. I anticipate having an additional $1000 per month in post-tax take home pay available once my student loan is paid off. I pay my credit card off every month so no cc debt. I know I am in a great situation but I am almost wondering what comes next. I am thinking about going back to school for my Master's in Engineering which my employer will pay 90% towards with an $8000 annual limit, so I would not need to save that much for this either. What is the next best way to make my money work for me? From the reading I have done here on PF, I am thinking I should stop continually adding to my savings account since it is very low interest. I would rather the money go somewhere rather than just sit in my checking account so I am not tempted to spend it. I am on board with budgeting this $5200 a year towards investing, but I would still have ~$10,000 extra per year for discretionary funds and/or investing. To start investing in stocks, do I need to have a lump sum saved up or can I contribute in lower amounts, such as the $100/week that I am used to? [link] [comments]  |
| Does anyone here not use credit cards? Posted: 29 Jan 2019 04:45 PM PST To make a long story short, I'm considering not using my credit card anymore. I find that I make a budget every month, but I never stick to it. I believe one reason it's hard to stick to my budget is because I have a large credit limit. This seems to make it easy for me to justify going over my budget every month. Anyways, are there any potential downsides to using straight cash or a debit card rather than a credit card? Will it hurt my credit in any way? Any insight is much appreciated! [link] [comments]  |
| Dealing with a (small) collections letter Posted: 29 Jan 2019 07:15 PM PST I recently got a collections letter from Transworld Systems, Inc. for a debt to my doctor's office. Now the amount is almost trivial (less than $50), but I can't find any record of a bill or debt from my doctor. I've considered just paying it just to make it go away and it seems about what a copay for me would be, but that doesn't seem like a good solution, especially if it happens again. I know this doesn't seem like a serious problem, but it's a curve ball I wasn't expecting that's come in the midst of a really-not-great time, and I'd like a bit of advice. Who should I contact—Transworld, my doctor, both? If it is real, can I just pay my doctor's office and be done with it? Will this go on my credit report? It says something needing to dispute it or it's considered valid, how much attention should I pay to that? I appreciates any direction ya'll can give me. I'm in the midst of an unexpected upheaval—though not one I can't weather thanks to the advice about emergency funds I've gotten from this sub—and I'm low on mental bandwidth. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 Jan 2019 06:54 PM PST Hi, I just recently turned 23 and I am looking for any advice on moving out and getting an apartment. I plan on moving out with my 23yr old fiancé and we both don't have a clue on what to expect/prepare for. We live on Long Island in New York. For anyone not familiar rent probably averages between $1,600-$2,200 a month. We were looking around western Suffolk/Nassau county so that would be close to the $2,200 a month for rent. I make about $47k yr and she back high $30k yr (maybe $38k). I'm just looking for some advice like , how much should we have saved? What's the procedure like? What's the cost of utilities? Things like that. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks. [link] [comments]  |
| Self employed, formerly homeless, haven't filed taxes for five years - timing question Posted: 29 Jan 2019 04:07 PM PST Personalfinance has heard all of the stories before, and my reasons for opting out of taxes are only reasons, not excuses, but I'll go into them briefly in case the details effect your responses. Being homeless is neither here nor there and the irs won't exempt me for a sob story, but I thought it would add spice to the header. So. Anyway, I had a rough go of life in my early 20s until I found freelance work I could get done online. The employer paid me through paypal. They've never sent me a 1099 and for the first several years of work they didn't even know my real name. They've never had my personal information until recently. Paypal has not 'as of yet' reported my income anywhere; I make too little or receive too few payments. You can see where this is going. I lived on the fringe for long enough that I started acting entitled, like the rules don't apply to me. A series of idiosyncrasies later, including some confusion with how I'm supposed to handle state taxes and healthcare when I have no particular address in no particular state, I start opting out of filing and become irresponsible. The ballpark income for the past five years is $5800, 6500, 10k, 18k and 25k. Not nothing especially with self employment taxes, but not a fortune. Now that my finances are stabilizing and my life's been settled for awhile, I'm in a position where I'm able to face the music and start paying up on what I owe. I have a few scattershot questions related to that (including the obligatory 'can I get away with this' q). - do admissions like this damage credit scores? Despite my tax fuckery I have a great credit score and am otherwise responsible with my finances and wondering what kind of hit I might take. I'm moving in early '19 and have one other large but necessary expense, so if reporting tax evasion/failure to file casts a wide net, I'll probably postpone raising irs red flags until those affairs are sorted out. - how much am I looking at owing from that ballpark estimate? I haven't put money into hiring a CPA yet, and I'm not even sure if I should do so before contacting the IRS myself. I probably have enough money to pay everything up front, because... - I recently came into a ton of money from the estate of a relative and I'm wondering if this complicates anything. Another tricky timing bit. I deposited the amount at the end of 2018. Will this confuse the irs at all? Will they ask for more money because of it, will it mess up their sense of my annual income, etc.? -"you're too small for the irs to bother with, so once you transition back to regular W2 work just start paying taxes again, cross your fingers and pretend like nothing happened" is not good advice, right? Personalfinance seems mostly patient sorting through the financial crimes of lay people bumbling their way through life, so thanks ahead of time for any/all answers. [link] [comments]  |
| Mom is on the mortgage with my abusive father who is the sole earner Posted: 29 Jan 2019 06:33 PM PST Hi everyone. I don't know many specific details about the mortgage but I will try my best to describe the situation: My mom is looking to divorce my abusive father who we may have involuntarily committed. He is emotionally and financially abusive, and last night threatened to kill him self and shot his handgun in the house. My mom is terrified. However, she is afraid to leave or have him committed because of the financial situation it could put her in. She has one semester left of medical assistant school. Since being in school, my dad acted as the sole earner for the household. My dad is always jumping from job to job because of his mental illness (acting like an asshole and getting fired). Because of this, my parents live paycheck to paycheck as is. Our fear is that my dad will stop paying the mortgage out of spite, and let it all fall on my mom, ruining her credit. If her credit is destroyed, she won't be able to get Parent Plus Loans (or any loans) for my brothers to attend their freshmen year of college. Even if my mom dropped out of school tomorrow, she would never make enough to be able to pay for the mortgage on her own. Is there anything my mom can do to protect herself during this time? I know it's a long shot. TLDR; dad is abusive and may be involuntarily committed to a psych hospital. Mom depends on him financially because she's in school. We are afraid if she has him committed and/or pursues a divorce my dad will stop paying the mortgage out of spite and tank her credit. Edit: a couple of people have pointed out that I have posted something similar to this subreddit earlier. I just wanted to ask more specifically about the mortgage, and if that bothers you, I would really appreciate it if you made the choice to be kind and not post something scalding. I am trying my best. [link] [comments]  |
| Bank closed credit card for missed payment, then immediately sent new one. Posted: 29 Jan 2019 04:56 PM PST I just had a baby 4 months ago and in my baby brain blur left my credit unpaid. I realized there was a balance and immediately paid it but the credit union let me know my card had been cancelled. I didn't apply for a new card but just got one in the mail. I had just gotten a new card number and the new card I recieved has my old number. Is this normal? [link] [comments]  |
| Can't afford my student loan payments and I'm really scared Posted: 29 Jan 2019 03:41 PM PST TLDR: I am stuck under massive student loan payments that are making it impossible to live, and my credit has been destroyed to the point where I can't easily refinance. Looking for some options. I graduated from college last year with a degree in graphic design, and I've been doing pretty well sense then. I managed to find work as a freelancer for a while, and now I've landed a full time job at a design agency here in town. I couldn't be happier being where I am, I love my job. The only problem is I'm approaching financial ruin as I try to stay on top of my student loan payments, and I am really scared I won't be able to support myself soon at all. Now, just to get this out of the way -- I was a complete idiot when I took out my student loans. I was fresh out of high school and wasn't lucky enough to be born into a family that could give me financial help in any way. I was also pretty financially illiterate, and I made some stupid loan term decisions -- but I wanted to go to school. I wanted to do something I loved, and I thought if I found a job things would work out and I'd be able to pay my loans back. However because I was a young, financially illiterate moron I took out private student loans with outrageous terms that just kept piling up each semester until I finished. To make matters worse I procrastinated dealing with the loans after I graduated. (like I said, complete idiot) Flash forward to now, I'm trying to figure out how to get myself out of this mess. I am almost 100,000 in debt at this point due to interest, and my monthly payments are now around $800 -- and that's just my private loans. On top of all of that, I of course have to pay rent, insurance, car payment, etc. I only make 32,000 a year, so once I make bills each month I really don't have anything left. I'd move back home to cut down on bills if that was an option, but I work in a different state. I was also late on payments a few times, simply because I don't make enough, and my credit has become miserable. I tried to consolidate and refinance my loans with my mom as a co-signer, but we were denied a couple times (her credit is fine, but she is retired.) So now I'm late on other bills as I try to keep my student loan current, and my already financially screwed family is having to help me out. I'm trying to find a second job and rebuild my credit right now because I'm so far in the hole, even though I already work full time (more than full-time some weeks.) I feel completely trapped right now, and I guess I'm looking to see if any folks on here found themselves in similar situations and how they eventually solved it. As it is - I feel like even with a second job I'm going to fall behind, and I really don't know what to do next. The only reason I'm not living on the run like a bad indie film is because my mom would be stuck with the debt as my cosigner. Maybe there are some refinancing options I haven't thought about? Loan forgiveness? seppuku? Edit: More info as requested -- Most of my loans are private, but when I was in community college I was doing federal loans only. in total I'm looking at 32k for federal and 66k in private loans. I actually didn't hear anything from my federal loans until very recently so I am looking at a lot of late payments coming up. I know if I call them and explain the situation they are more likely to help me out than my private lender...but consequently I've been too scared to call them to figure it out yet. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 Jan 2019 02:33 PM PST Hi all and thanks for reading. Quick stats for context: Age: 33 Occupation: Specialist in the I.T industry Location: Sydney Australia Income: $144,000 a year. (Includes tax, superannuation, student debt repayment aka HELP debt) After tax and super: $6648 per month. This is how much hits my account after all tax and stuff is taken out. Debt repayment: $4285 a month (no interest on this) Living and expenses: Under $2000 a month Emergency fund: $12,000 In Nov 2019 I will have finished paying off all my debt and be debt free. My question: How should I continue living like this, and not change after my debts have been repaid? Since I am 10 months away from being debt free, I want to learn as much about stock market investing, real estate investing or anything else that I should be putting my money towards. In the past 6 months, I have been practising minimalism. I've removed a lot of crap in my house. I also have not bought anything (except food). No travel plans ahead. Nothing major to buy. Already have a car that is decent and doesn't need repairs. I want to continue this and try a no-buy 2019.
Basically, if you were making $6648 per month, and you had no debt and your living expenses were really low (not more than $2000 a month) what would you do with it? [link] [comments]  |
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